Ferrari fits Fernando

Date published : 04 Feb 2010 - 17:16:31

Fernando Alonso is revelling in the passion, atmosphere and feeling being generated at Ferrari, in contrast to the "cold" he felt after arriving at McLaren.

On his first day inside Ferrari's new car, Alonso thrilled a truly astonishing test-day crowd of 36,000 fans who endured a four-mile jam into Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit to watch their hero in action.

"The feeling, atmosphere, passion of everybody within Ferrari is unbelievable, and I've had time to feel that since day one," said Alonso. "It's nice to be in the garage speaking Italian with the mechanics as they have a similar sense of humour to people in Spain, so it's very good so far. I'm enjoying life."

Asked as to how his first day with Ferrari compared to that when he was at McLaren, where he endured a torrid time prior to a bitter fall-out and ignominious exit, Alonso's answer was unequivocal.

"You join a big team and you want to do well, but there's not the same culture, character, so the atmosphere there was a little more cold," remarked the 28-year-old from Oviedo.

"They were very professional, and as far as the car is quick, you felt comfortable, but here, for me, Ferrari is very special."